This past Sunday marked the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, an event notorious for its celebrity hosts, live performances, and memorable moments. However, this year’s award show was marked by many somber moments. Just several hours prior to the show’s opening, news broke of the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven others. Along with honoring Bryant’s memory, emotional performances from Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, and others gave the show a greater, more sincere meaning.
Bryant’s death touched the lives of everyone but the pain was perhaps more acute for Los Angeles citizens, who had seen him represent their home team, the Lakers, for his entire 20 year career. There was even discussion as to whether the Grammys should take place in the Staples Center, the arena where Bryant had had some of his most important and memorable moments as a basketball star. The location of the awards show and the fresh feelings from the tragedy made it necessary and salient for the show to focus on his legacy.
Lizzo, who opened the show, declared “Tonight is for Kobe” before proceeding with her song. Following her performance Alicia Keys, the host for that night, began her opening speech by saying: “we’re all feeling crazy sadness right now. Because earlier today, Los Angeles, America, and the whole wide world lost a hero. And we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.” Following her speech, Boys II Men joined Keys on stage and sang their 1991 hit song “Hard to Say Goodbye.” The performance, filled with emotion, was a powerful and touching beginning to the show.
Throughout the show other artists showed their respect for Bryant. After Lil Nas X’s performance, he shouted Bryant out, and after Tyler the Creator won Best Rap Album he expressed how the moment was bittersweet.
Demi Lovato also added to the emotional feeling of the night, as her performance was her first in two years. Lovato performed her song “Anything,” which was penned four days after her 2018 hospitalization for a drug overdose. Despite having to restart her song, Lovato’s emotional performance touched everyone in the room. It was a triumph of her comeback to music and her resilience in struggling with mental health.
The Grammys also featured a tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was assassinated in March of 2019 outside a shopping plaza he owned. Along with his gaining fame through his successful music career, Hussle touched the lives around him through his community activism. In the last years of his life the late rapper worked to increase opportunities in South Los Angeles through various philanthropy and development projects.
It would be remiss for the Grammys to go without dedicating a part of the show to commemorate his work. Hussle’s rap and activism was grounded in a love for his hometown and a desire for underprivileged young people to succeed. His work touched lives across the board, both within the music world and among people who looked up to his character.
Meek Mill opened the Grammy performance, with a verse expressing the pain he and the world at large experienced through his loss. Then, the stage opened and Hussle’s last song “Higher” was sung by his co-collaborators on the project, John Legend and DJ Khaled. A video of Hussle performing was projected during his verse. As the performance continued, more prominent rappers came onto the stage and sang lyrics personalized for Nipsey. At the conclusion of the song an image of Hussle, alongside Kobe Bryant, was projected behind the musicians.
The performance complemented the Hussle family’s meaningful night, in which they accepted the two posthumous Grammy awards for the rapper, one for Best Rap/Sung Performance and the other for Best Rap Performance. The impact of Hussle’s legacy was evident and well remembered during the Grammys. Each of the emotional moments speak to the life Hussle lived – one of love, selflessness, and dedication – and work to keep his memory alive.
Another touching moment during the Grammys was singer Camila Cabello’s performance, where she sang “First Man” in dedication to her father, Alejandro. Cabello wrote the song while she was missing him on tour. The song speaks to the father-daughter bond Cabello and Alejandro have and to how her career as a musician has shaped their relationship. Cabello has found it challenging to balance a newfound difficulty in spending quality time with her father while also pursuing her career.
Throughout her performance old images and videos of Cabello and Alejandro were projected behind her. These moments demonstrate the strength of their relationship and the love her father always showed her.
However, the most touching moment of the performance was Alejandro’s own reaction to the song. By the end, when the two embraced, he had been moved to tears. The performance was heartwarming and moving and was a positive and emotional moment of the night.
In each performance, artists wielded their talents to commemorate those who have touched their lives. Apart from other years, the 2020 Grammys will be remembered as a night filled with emotion and remembrance.